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LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Richard Bull, who played shopkeeper and put-upon spouse Nels Oleson on TV’s “Little House on the Prairie,” has died. He was 89.

Bull died Monday at the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s hospital, fund spokeswoman Jaime Larkin said. The actor, a resident of what was once known as the Motion Picture and TV home, died of natural causes after being hospitalized with pneumonia, Larkin said Tuesday.

“Everyone loved him so much,” said Bull’s “Little House” co-star Alison Arngrim, who played his daughter, Nellie, and remained close to him. “People are posting (condolences) in six different languages on my Facebook page.”

The Illinois-born character actor appeared in a wide range of TV shows, from “Perry Mason” in the 1950s to “Mannix” in the 1960s to Kelsey Grammer’s “Boss” in 2011. Bull played opposite his wife of 65 years, actress Barbara Collentine, in several projects.

Among the movies he appeared in were “High Plains Drifter” and “Executive Action,” both in 1973.

Dean Butler, who played Almanzo James Wilder on the 1974-83 NBC series inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s novels about her 19th-century prairie family’s life, recalled his friend.

“Richard was a very generous, soft-spoken actor with a wonderful appetite for work,” Butler said. “He always made it (acting) look so easy.”

Melissa Gilbert, who starred in the series with Michael Landon (who died in 1991), tweeted: “This man will be missed. Goodbye Richard working with you was such a joy but nearly as joyful as being your friend.”

Bull and Collentine, also 89, moved to the Motion Picture & Television Fund home from Chicago in September 2012, Larkin said.

Another “Little House” cast member became a resident there, said Butler: Katherine “Scottie” MacGregor, who played Oleson’s memorable wife, Harriet.

After Bull’s death, Collentine and MacGregor had dinner together Monday night and agreed “they had both lost a wonderful husband,” Butler said.

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